Has Panera upped their game?

[Anonymous]

I mean, I think it's good, but the last time I went I was so shocked by the price tag (like $45 for two adults for lunch??) that I couldn't focus on the food.

[Anonymous]

No I think their food has been pretty consistent in terms of taste and quality. Panera isn’t bad, it’s just no longer worth what they charge for it.

[Anonymous]

I got their cinnamon roll breakfast sandwich this morning and it was actually amazing. It's like an upscale McGriddle. A total calorie bomb but it was fun to try once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No I think their food has been pretty consistent in terms of taste and quality. Panera isn’t bad, it’s just no longer worth what they charge for it.

+1 they are charging for it like it's some fresh farm to table soup and sandwich shop because it's how they advertise their image... but we all know it's factory made, prefrozen food assembled on site.

The quality doesn't annoy me because I know what I'm getting when I go to Panera. It's that it's priced the same as local soup and sandwich shops that provide the same kind of fare and actually fresh and better tasting.

But I guess people will pay for it, or they would lower their prices....

[Anonymous]

I had the frontega chicken for the first time in years on a road trip and it was fantastic - the amount of chicken they included and the dressing was different than before. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was in a different location or if they’ve improved.

[Anonymous]

We've been a few times recently, the kids both like it. They had an avocado toast that my pickier kid really liked, but on our last visit we discovered they had revamped their menu (AGAIN) and no avo toast is breakfast only. I hate that their display board doesn't list all the ingredients, so every time they revamp I have to pull up their menu on my phone to figure out what everyone can/will eat. It seems expensive for what you get, although less expensive than some other fast casual places these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I think their food has been pretty consistent in terms of taste and quality. Panera isn’t bad, it’s just no longer worth what they charge for it.

+1 they are charging for it like it's some fresh farm to table soup and sandwich shop because it's how they advertise their image... but we all know it's factory made, prefrozen food assembled on site.

The quality doesn't annoy me because I know what I'm getting when I go to Panera. It's that it's priced the same as local soup and sandwich shops that provide the same kind of fare and actually fresh and better tasting.

But I guess people will pay for it, or they would lower their prices....

The bread is baked fresh right? And the eggs in the breakfast sandwiches? My breakfast sandwich this morning tasted far fresher than any other fast food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sandwich with green goddess dressing is amazing. I hate Panera but my kid likes it.

So, they have at least one thing you consider "amazing," but you hate it?

I said above that I hate the experience, but like the food. It's really dirty and they don't have descriptions of the food anywhere. The bathrooms are filthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got their cinnamon roll breakfast sandwich this morning and it was actually amazing. It's like an upscale McGriddle. A total calorie bomb but it was fun to try once.

Sub the American cheese for white cheddar. So delicious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No I think their food has been pretty consistent in terms of taste and quality. Panera isn’t bad, it’s just no longer worth what they charge for it.

+1 they are charging for it like it's some fresh farm to table soup and sandwich shop because it's how they advertise their image... but we all know it's factory made, prefrozen food assembled on site.

The quality doesn't annoy me because I know what I'm getting when I go to Panera. It's that it's priced the same as local soup and sandwich shops that provide the same kind of fare and actually fresh and better tasting.

But I guess people will pay for it, or they would lower their prices....

When a You Pick Two was $7.99, that was the correct price point. I do not care about inflation, covid markup blah blah blah- half a sandwich and soup is NEVER going to be worth $14.99 plus a drink = almost $20. It’s just not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got their cinnamon roll breakfast sandwich this morning and it was actually amazing. It's like an upscale McGriddle. A total calorie bomb but it was fun to try once.

Sub the American cheese for white cheddar. So delicious.

1,000 calories for breakfast?